Starting From Scratch
by Blair.1907
Summary: That day would have been any other day between Germany and Italy. However, tables turn when Feliciano finds a familiar object in the back of Ludwig's tool shed-and shocking revelations begin to unravel.   GermanyxItaly
1. Chapter 1

AN:

**Hello dear readers! I would like to start off by thanking you for attempting to read my story : )**

**I have just started watching Hetalia (as in 3 days ago), and though fairly inexperienced with the series, have already developed quite a liking for the GerxIta pairing. (It reminds me of Toboe and Tsume from wolf's rain-common, admit it, Germany looks like Tsume and Italy looks like Toboe!)**

**I can not say for certain that the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) IS Germany. The creators of Hetalia haven't really given a concrete answer for that theory, so all us fan girls, myself included, are just sort of gravitating around the hope that they are the same person. Please do not bother messaging me about how my writing is wrong because 'Germany is not HRE and can't ever be… blah blah blah.' Please keep in mind, this is a fan fiction, not a history textbook.**

**Let's just say in this story, Germany IS the HRE; but having lost everything he had and for being too injured and fallen apart, he doesn't remember anything of his past. That is why he does not recognize Italy. And Italy does not recognize Germany because he…..just doesn't? LOL**

**Anyways, the rest is history. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the read!**

**-Sunny**

**PS. REVIEWS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED! Reviews make the world go 'round, as they say. It will make me a very happy person and ensure updates -if they are wanted-**

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Chapter One

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Ludwig was sitting on the bench outside in his backyard. His clean and well-worn overalls hugged his torso comfortably as he shifted his legs. Pleasant rays of sunlight warmed the back of his neck against the mild morning air.

Even though the book-marked page 374-sat comfortably in his palms, Ludwig's mind had long since strayed from the small, inky print on the papers. He found himself gazing nonchalantly across the garden and straight at a lone, pink flower standing tall in the middle of his lawn. He frowned. When had that gotten there? Surely it couldn't be Italy's doing-but knowing that little brat, it must have been him. Italy was always brining new kinds of weeds and strange things to Germany's place, in turn spreading foreign objects and plants all over his home. Germany really did need to tell Italy to stop pestering him so much.

Ludwig set the book down beside him after carefully folding the corner of the page he had been on. He leaned back, tilting his head towards the cloudless sky. Sometimes, he wondered if it were possible to be lost in the vast, blue depths, and what it would be like to simply float higher and higher, and never stop.

"Ve-ve-ve-ve!"

Germany grew rigid, snapping his head towards the intruding sound. Alas, he couldn't expect for the peace to last forever, that damn Italy-

It was not Italy. It had just been a bird.

"ve-ve-ve-v-ee!" A small blue jay, perched amiably atop the branch of a young apple tree, peered curiously down at the startled German. "veee-vee-ve!"

Ludwig frowned. Where was Italy? Usually the brat would be pestering him by now, running through his front door because of some trivial crisis, such as an untied shoelace or a caved-in tent. Sometimes, Italy would even be IN Germany's bed when he awoke in the morning.

Slightly bemused, the tall blond made his way into the house. He was feeling somewhat hungry, and the wurst he had in the morning had not quite filled him up. Perhaps he could attempt to make those rice balls Japan had taught him to make some time last week-they sounded filling and easy enough. But he did not want to make a mess in the kitchen at the thought of cleaning it up again, so he instead opted to sit himself on the couch with a cup of coffee.

Halfway through the mug, the shrill ring of his phone broke the air. 'Italy,' Germany thought, as he reached for the black telephone.

"Hel-"

"GERMANY!" A loud, bright voice busted through the line. "Ah~ Good Morning! I was just wondering if you were awake now! Oh-silly me-of course you're awake, or you wouldn't have picked up. Unless I woke you up-and if that's the case, I'M REALLY SORRY! Please don't hate me! Japan was warning me to try and not call you so much because he thinks that I will annoy you too much and you know how much I want to be good friends with you.."

"You are my good friend. Don't worry, Italy." Ludwig sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'Mein Gott!' "So what is it that you need this time? And please be specific. And make sure it's not something stupid like last time."

"Well actually, I was wondering if I could hop on over and borrow some tools from your toolshed, because Germany is so cool and everything he makes is cool so he must have lots of tools I can borrow."

"And why do you need these, 'tools', again?"

"Ve, my big brother Romano needs them! And he's being a bigger dick than usual and he won't leave me alone, so I need to give him what he needs and he'll stop bugging me so much! Germany, you must understand~"

It was possible for Italy to be annoyed? Germany learned something new that day. "er, okay. Just come on over now."

"OKAY! GRAZIE GERMANY!"

In a matter of minutes, Italy was standing inside Germany's house, his face flushed happily and panting slightly from running. There was a small scratch on his arm.

"what's the from?" Ludwig pointed out, taking Italy's arm into his hands and examining the wound."

"Ah! Well, you see-" Italy rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Switzerland kinda got angry at me for running across his lawn, so…"

Germany rolled his eyes. "Ah, that again. Honestly, you could have asked me to come pick you up. You should use that brain of yours some time."

The two made their way to the backyard. Germany kept a steady pace, listening in amusement to Italy's uneven footfalls against the ground.

"Here we are." Ludwig pulled out a small, silver key from his pockets and inserted it into the lock that secured his polished, red toolshed. The door clicked open obediently as he pulled it open with a creak. "Help yourself, just don't touch the-"

"WOW! COOL!" Italy, ignoring the German's warnings, waltzed into the dimly lit storage room. "You have everything in here Germany! But someone like you must know everything about making cool vehicles! How are Germans so smart in this field of work? It really does make up for the bad wurst~"

Ludwig slapped his palm to his face. Sighing heavily he shook his head. "Just don't leave this place a mess, I keep it organized, and I don't feel like having to rearrange things today. There's the gardening tools over there, if you need them-the rakes, scythes, lawnmower- and over there are just some- Italy?"

Feliciano stood, cold and stiff, in the middle of the room. Ludwig followed his gaze, his own landing on an ancient looking, worn brook rested against the back corner of the shed. The wood was faded, and the bristles dusty.

"Feliciano?"

"where did you get that, Germany?" the boy's voice sounded different-tiny and far away. Germany furrowed his eyebrows.

"Er, I don't actually remember. I've had it ever since I could remember. I should honestly throw it away, thought-it's useless. I just never got around to it, I guess."

But Feliciano was not listening. He stared from the broom, to the tall blond German standing behind him, and back to the broom, and back to Germany.

And suddenly, it all made sense.

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**Liked it? Didn't like it? Reviews are well loved! :D**

**Thanks for reading! Until next time, I hope!**


	2. Chapter 2

AN: So chapter two is up! Poor Feli, i do feel so sorry for him. He needs a serious hug after this chapter. (sigh)

As for Germany, well, he's kinda dumb for not being able to put two and two together. But in his case, he had thought that Italy had been a girl, and had completely forgotten 'her' name. Some things in life just can't be helped, I guess.

Stay tuned for the next chapter because Prussia and South Italy with make their awesome debut! (With Prussia's awesomeness and Romano's dirty mouth)

Enjoy~! And Review are always welcome! To me, they are the oreos to my milk! xD

-Sunny

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Chapter 2

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"Italy?"

Feliciano stumbled, dropping his ladle into the pot of boiling water. He looked up, startled, to see Germany staring at him with his sharp, blue eyes.

"Y-yes?"

"You've been stirring the pot for ten minutes non-stop now. Is anything the matter?"

Feliciano uttered a small noise of distress as he brought the ladle out of the pot. The noodles were slightly overdone, swelling past the point of perfection. Feliciano said nothing, silently putting on his oven mitts and hoisting the overcooked noodles to the sink. The hot steam shot into Italy's face as he poured the liquid into the drain.

"Italy, perhaps you should take a break." Germany's voice sounded from somewhere in the background. "You seem out of it today, and it would be unfortunate if my kitchen burned down because of your spacing out."

"Ah, I'm okay. I promise I'll get it right this time!"

But when Feliciano had turned around, Ludwig had already rolled up his sleeves, and tucked his glasses in his breast pocket. The tall blond man moved fluidly, grabbing clean pans and spatulas. Italy watched from the side. Unsure of what to do, the Italian simply turned his back on the other man and began scrubbing the bottoms of the pot.

"Hey Germany?"

"Ja?" There was a clang of metal cooking utensils.

'_Do you remember me, at all?_' "What are you going to do with that broom?"

"As I said before, I'm considering to chuck it. I have no use for it, really."

"Oh."

"Why are you so interested in it?" Germany cast a suspicious glance at the young Italian. "You've been acting strange ever since you've seen that thing."

'_Holy Rome, don't you remember me at all_?' "Oh, no-I just used to have a broom like that when I was little. That's all."

"Ah. I see."

For once, Italy breathed a silent sigh, glad of the quiet settling in the kitchen. He forced himself to think of only scrubbing away the charred marks at the bottom of the pot.

"Hey, Germany?"

"Ja?"

"Have you ever liked anyone before?"

There was a pause. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean by 'like.'"

"You know, have you ever loved anyone before? When you were younger."

Germany's hands stopped chopping the onions on the cutting board. He turned his head to see the back of Feliciano's head, bent over the sink. "Why are you being more annoying than usual today?"

"Ve, I was just wondering Germany. Please don't get angry at me."

The German did not respond. He simply went back to cutting up vegetables and scarping them into a large frying pan with hot oil. A satisfying sizzling escaped from the pan. Italy continued to soap the pot.

"Ja. I did. A long time ago."

Italy stopped cleaning, scorching hot water assaulting his red hands. "wha-"

"I did 'like' somebody. But that's all in the past." It seemed as though that was all Germany was willing to say. "What about you, Italy?"

The sable-haired boy could not utter a word. He stared at the pot, overflowing with steaming water. His hands were deeply submerged inside, distorted by the ripples.

'Holy Rome, you don't remember me, at all'

"I did too." Feliciano choked out, as he lugged the pot to the side. The water streamed violently out from the top. "But that person left-and that person doesn't remember me anymore."

There was a dull pounding on the counter behind Italy. Was Germany making pastries?

"Italy?"

"y-yes?"

"I'm sorry." Feliciano turned to see large, clear blue eyes staring straight at him. He had to quickly swerve his head to swallow back the tears.

'_Oh, Holy Rome-you don't remember._'

"You okay, Italy?"

"ve, I'm just a bit hungry." Feliciano lied faintly.

"Go lie down on the couch. I'll be done in a few minutes."

Ludwig's concern for his friend was growing ever stronger. He watched as the younger man made his way to the living room, his movements slow and staggered as though drunk. Ludwig's voice of reasoning nagged at him that it was only normal for someone to be depressed about losing a loved one, and having to think back on it. But the something in the German's heart was telling him there was much, much more to Italy's mood than some silly past crush.

Frowning, Germany finished pouring his cake batter into a round tin, setting it into the oven. He started slicing the spicy wurst he had ready, and placed them atop the rice and vegetable stir-fry he had made-a dish he had learned to make with the courtesy of Japan.

'_Have you ever liked anyone before?' _

Germany shook his head, staring at the food before him. He felt a wry smile forming on his lips. Of course he had-on occasional nights, he would even dream about her. The one he loved. The one he's sure he had loved. Her pale, rosy cheeks and soft brown hair. Her high-pitched whines and bashful face. Her closed eyes, and her clumsy movements. Germany remembered it all as clear as day, all save one thing.

For the life of him, Ludwig could not remember her name. Because of this, the man often wondered if she had been real at all-and that maybe she was just some sort of dream fairy that existed only in his subconscious to tease him. But Ludwig knew that fairies did not exist.

The sponge cake took shorter time to set than the man had assumed. He creamed on his homemade whipped butter cream, and grated dark chocolate onto the top. With the swift, experienced speed that only Ludwig could muster, he topped the edges with candied cherries, and sprinkled the top with confectioner's sugar. He stood back to examine his masterpiece.

"Italy!"

The Italian came stumbling back into the kitchen in all his former clumsiness. His expression was less dark than before, easing the wrinkles on Ludwig's forehead.

"Ve?"

"I'm done. Let's eat."

Italy spotted the cake sitting on the counter. His face brightened considerably at the sight of the dessert. "Germany! You made a cake!"

"Ja. I figured a little something sweet would be nice." Germany replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Italy smiled a smile so bright, that Ludwig felt temporarily blinded. It was those certain smiles which made him absolutely tongue-tied, for no apparent reason.

"Germany's baking is always so good! His baking skills are almost as good as mine!"

"Almost?"

"Eheheh… I mean, it's good! IT'S GOOD!" Feliciano cried as Ludwig grabbed him in a headlock. "IT'S BETTER! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Germany smiled, his former worries having been forgotten. Italy was back to normal now. There was nothing a little food and cake could not fix.

What he had failed to notice, were the dried tearstains that ran down Feliciano's cheeks.

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I want cake now :(

LOL

Reviews on how to improve my writing are always welcome! Thanks loves ;)


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